Writing

this is the oldest human writing going back 77,000 years

In 2002, a discovery at Blombos Cave in South Africa began to change how researchers view the evolution of modern human behavior. Archaeologists reported finding two pieces of red ochre engraved with crosshatched patterns, dated to 77,000 years ago. Many experts interpreted the etchings as evidence of symbolic expression and possibly even art, 40,000 years earlier than many researchers had thought (Science, 11 January 2002, p. 247). Now the Blombos team reports on an additional 13 engraved ochre pieces, many dated to 100,000 years ago. The researchers suggest that some of the engravings may represent an artistic or symbolic tradition. If so, the timeline for the earliest known symbolic behavior must once again be redrawn.
[these are now beleived to be the oldest form of writing to date]~Hieroglyphs carved in stone appeared until the 1st Dynasty of Egypt c. 3200 BC, and was used in monumental formal writing The earliest known hieroglyphic inscription was the Narmer Palette, found during excavations at Hierakonpolis